MyPillow founder Mike Lindell fell in Tuesday’s Minnesota GOP gubernatorial primary to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a sign that President Donald Trump‘s endorsement wasn’t enough to get the 2020 election denier over the finish line.Tuesday’s results set up what is expected to be a fierce general election between Demuth and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Democrats in the state are weakened by fraud scandals that forced incumbent Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) to drop his reelection bid. Yet Minnesota, which has not had a Republican governor since 2011, remains an uphill battle for the GOP. The Associated Press called the race for Demuth at 11:26 p.m. with 45.1% of the vote to Lindell’s 31%. Minnesota does not have runoffs for partisan primary elections, meaning that Demuth will appear on the November ballot even though she did not pass the 50% threshold.
The primary became a proxy fight for political influence between President Donald Trump and the Minnesota Republican Party as it took shape over the summer.Trump endorsed Lindell, who was an ally in his campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election, last month. Trump hailed the “Pillow Man” as the best pick to replace Walz, one of his political nemeses.“He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment,” the president said of Lindell in a July 15 Truth Social post. “He can do it! Nobody has sacrificed more than Mike Lindell in fighting for our country, especially when it comes to Election Integrity.”The Minnesota Republican Party quickly expressed its wariness of Trump’s bullish stance on Lindell. Party Chairman Alex Plechash released a statement on the day of Trump’s endorsement, warning that Republicans must nominate “the candidate best positioned to defeat Amy Klobuchar.”“These are serious times, and they demand serious, disciplined leadership,” Plechash continued. “Minnesota needs a governor who can unite Republicans, earn the support of independent voters, and defeat Amy Klobuchar.”
